> Budding Rose
>  by RoseluckyCinor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The best thing about finishing an order, I reflected, was the sense of relaxation that would come immediately afterward. I was busying myself putting the final touches of the last twenty barrels of roses that were destined to ride to Canterlot and be used in the gardens of the Grand Galloping Gala. That thought set my heart pattering ever so lightly in my chest. I almost had to sit down and drop the barrel top that I had in my mouth just to calm myself.
“Just two more barrels, Rose,” I told myself confidently. I wasn’t really confident at all. All the small nicks and tears of the precious rose petals came to mind as I put the second to last top on. Maybe the roses weren’t going to be good enough for the princesses! A small whine made itself heard from the back of my throat as I picked up the very last barrel top and placed it gently on the barrel. I was finally done, I thought. Two weeks of intense gardening was over.
I hobbled over to the small couch I kept on the shop floor for customers who needed to wait and laid down gingerly. I was hobbling because just this morning a barrel had tipped itself over my hind leg, bruising it but nothing serious. It hard hurt an awful lot at the time. My shop wasn’t all that big on the inside. Next to the door was a table and a register. On the wall across from the door was a wall lined with empty buckets, each of them to be filled in the summer. This year’s crop had done a lot of good for me and my two best friends, Lily and Daisy. I hedged a bet that even the Apples had made a tidy profit. I settled myself deeper into the sagging, red cushions and closed my eyes.
My ears perked at the sound of a hoof rapping at the door to the shop. I stretched out and looked to see if anypony was there. Through the clouding window on the door I saw the familiar yellow-gold mane of my good friend Lily. 
“It’s open,” I called out to her. She opened the door and walked in. What I hadn’t seen through the window was the beaming grin on her face. It looked like she was having trouble just staying on the ground.
“You’ll never guess what,” she said excitedly. “Never in a million years!” I sat up on the couch a little straighter, leaving room for her if she wanted to sit down but Lily didn’t take it. She continued to pace in front of me, her legs seeming to kick the air away in glee. From her actions there were only a few possible causes that I could think of.
“Does it involve Sugarcube Corner?” I asked. Lily got an annoyed look on her face.
“I knew you’d think that,” she admonished me. A frown creeped over my mouth.
“Well I don’t know, Lily. What’s the big news?” Lily rolled her eyes before speaking.
“I won two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala, Rose!” She exclaimed. Her voice was filled with bubbling joy and it was making me happy just seeing her like this. “And,” she said again, “I was wondering if you’d like to go as pals.” It felt like somepony had laid a heavy weight on my chest.
“Oh, uh, Lily, I don’t know,” I started to murmur. Lily leapt onto the couch next to me and nudged me over even though I had left plenty of space.
“Don’t even pretend you don’t want to go,” she said. “And I don’t think you’d let little old me go to Canterlot alone, would you?” I shook my head. “Then it’s settled.”
“But what about Daisy?” I asked, not wanting to forget our other friend. I hoped she’d remember Daisy and ask her instead. Instead Lily looked around nonchalantly.
“Originally if I won the two of us, Daisy and I, would have gone, but she and her boyfriend made plans accidentally. So now it’s just the two of us!” She pressed herself into me for a hug. “Maybe we’ll meet some stallions while we’re there,” she hissed playfully. The weight in my chest hadn’t disappeared and was only compounded by Lily laying on me. 
“Where did you win these tickets?” I asked. Lily didn’t say anything or release the hug and I knew what she wanted. I put my forehooves around her and returned the hug. Seemingly satisfied she let go and sat back on the opposite end of the couch.
“Well you know that Pon3 always has the raffle and that Daisy and I always enter. This year she picked my number out live on the radio.” She paused for moment to catch her breath. I hadn’t noticed it but she’d been out of breath the whole time. I wondered how she could be this excited. Didn’t she know how many ponies were going to be there? She gave me a sly look. “You aren’t going to try and get out of it are you, Rose?”
“No way, Lily,” I said shaking my head. “I just have to get a dress and some stuff,” I told her, trying to avoid her gaze. Lily reared up, looking ready to pounce again. She looked silly with her flank in the air but I couldn’t tell her that now. She’d have none of it. “I do want to go,” I said as truthfully as I could. Lilly narrowed her eyes.
“You don’t sound nearly as enthusiastic as I am,” she commented.
“I’m in shock?” I asked. Lily took a slow step forward. Her head was above the hooves of my hind legs. I pulled them closer to me.
“I think you’re nervous,” she said matter of factly. “Nervous about all the ponies that are going to be there.” She was right and she knew it. I’d never liked crowds and the Grand Galloping Gala was destined to be the biggest crowd this side of Equestria. I emitted a low, slow groan. “I knew it.”
“Yes,” I said uselessly, “I’m scared.” Lily sighed and crossed the couch, sitting right next to me, cutie mark to cutie mark.
“It won’t be that bad,” she said softly. If you had just heard that sentence you wouldn’t have ever believed she had just been jumping up and down. Her voice was calm and understanding. “Come on, Rose. You need to get out more. This is the perfect opportunity for us to get out and see the big city life.”
“But I don’t have anything to wear,” I said, “my mane’s terrible, my coat is all knotted and gross. They’ll laugh me out of Canterlot.” I looked away from Lily, but not before I saw her pout.
“I can fix all those things,” she declared. 
“You can make dresses now?” Lily smirked.
“No, but I know Rarity can.” I gave her a small laugh.
“Rarity must be at her wit’s end this time of year, making all those Gala dresses.”
“Not this year, Rose. I have it on good authority that she finished last week and she’s been doing next to nothing since then. We can talk to her tomorrow about getting you a dress by this weekend.”
“This weekend?” I asked, panic filling my voice. Today was Wednesday, that left only two days for a dress and everything else. There simply wasn’t enough time in the day. “I don’t know, Lily. There’s just too much to do...” Lily placed a hoof against my mouth, silencing me.
“There’s always time if we start right now,” she said. She took the hoof off my muzzle and started scratching her chin, thinking. “We can go to the spa and get your mane and coat worked on. Then afterwards we can go to Rarity’s. Does that sound okay, Rose?” It felt like the first time in this whole exchange that she’d actually asked me something.
“Yes?” I said questionably. 
“Is there anything else we need to take care of?” I frowned.
“I don’t know if it’s important or not...” I said trailing off.
“Rose,” Lily said seriously. “Everything you think of is important to me, okay?” It made me feel good to have a friend like Lily around. I didn’t know what I’d do without her or Daisy.
“It’s just that I... it’s kind of embarrassing really,” I admitted. Lily started to lean into me, begging me to tell her silently. “I don’t know how to dance,” I said softly. She sat back on her end of the couch, leaning against the armrest.
“I’ll teach you to dance later,” she said. I raised an eyebrow.
“Do you know how to dance?” I asked. In all my years of knowing her she’d never danced in front of me. I didn’t quite doubt that she could dance either. Lily had a lot of secret talents, we all did. Daisy could paint pretty well and I tried my hoof at poetry from time to time. I’d even been put into newspapers as far as Manehattan, under a pen-name of course. It wouldn't be completely out of the question to think that Lily could dance. Lilly scoffed.
“Of course I know how to dance, silly,” she said. “We can worry about that later. If you look good enough you don’t need to know how to dance with all the boys.” She noticed me frowning. “Oh come on, Rose. You really don’t want a boyfriend?” I blushed deeply.
“Of course I do!” I said trying to hide my face. Lily and Daisy had been on my back about being single for years. “It’s just I get nervous around a lot of ponies.”
“That’s a given, Rose,” she said. “But I’m sure there’ll be some stallions for you too.” I couldn’t help but focus on the heat growing in my belly. “It will be fine, Rose. I’ll be by your side all night. How about that?”
“I don’t want you to waste your night on me,” I said. Lily, tired of waiting, tackled me, pinning me to the cushions. I struggled to get anywhere but under her. She wasn’t much stronger than me but it was enough.
“You’re so weird sometimes, Rose.” 
“You’re the one who tackled me,” I said, straining to move. Lily moved a bit so I could at least breathe. “Why are you still on me?” I could feel the warmth under her soft, pink coat. It felt really strange to have another pony, let alone my best friend, laying on me so casually. 
“It’s not wasting my night if I’m hanging around with you,” she said. She put her full weight down on my chest. I could feel her tail swishing on my bruised leg. “We’re friends right?” she asked.
“Yes, Lily,” I said. She let her head rest on the armrest, resting her neck on my muzzle. “Why?” I asked, my words muddled. The best course of action, I imagined, was to act like she wasn’t laying all over me. Even then I could feel her forehooves squeezing around me in a hug.
“I don’t think you know how special you are to me,” she said.
“I know you like me, Lily. That’s why we’re friends. But it’s getting hard to breathe.” Lily moved when I said that. This time she rested her head on the crook of my neck. “That’s better,” I said. I still felt strange having her lay on me. Some of her yellow mane was getting in my face, I tried blowing it off to no avail. “Are we going to the spa?” Lily stretched out I could feel her soft belly over mine.
“But I’m so cozy,” she said playfully. I decided there wasn’t much to do but just wait for her to get over her playful mood. It wasn’t every day that you get invited to the Grand Galloping Gala by your best friend. Lily shuffled her weight and slid down between me and the back of the couch. I had to hold on to her to get comfortable. My face was getting awfully red, matching my mane.
“Do you think it will cost a lot at the spa?” I asked her, my mouth was close to her ear and I didn’t want to be too loud so I whispered.
“I don’t think so, we can go halfsies on it,” she assured me.
“But we both have to pay for ourselves...” I trailed off. Lily giggled.
“I can cover you, Rose.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I said indignantly. The least I could do was pay for myself. “Say, shouldn’t we get going? We don’t want them to be too busy.”
“Sure thing,” she said with a disappointed sigh,. She dropped the hug, got up and hopped off the couch like nothing had happened. This time out of all the times Lily had gotten close to me struck me as the most odd, but I wasn’t sure why. I shook my head as if to get rid of the feeling but it stuck around. The clock on the wall said it was only two in the afternoon. The royal guard would be here soon to pick up the roses.
“I don’t suppose I have to be here for that,” I said to myself more than anypony else. Lily turned her head around to face me.
“What’s that, Rose?” she asked. Her voice sounded different, like it had gained a kind of heaviness.
“Oh nothing,” I said quickly, “I’m just thinking of getting all these roses sent out.” Lily smiled. 
“All these roses are beautiful,” she said. I flashed a brief smile, it had taken a lot of work to grow only the very best for the Gala. I was sure her lilies were just as good if not better looking. “You really outdid yourself,” she said.
“Thank you, Lily, that’s really sweet.” She beamed at me. “Come on,” I said. I had a modest pouch of bits beneath the register next to the door. I picked them up and stashed them away. “Let’s get to the spa and get ourselves some nice massages.” It was hard not to return Lily’s expression. It felt nice to see her happy. Even the idea of going to the Gala was warming up to me. Of course I couldn’t say no to getting a nice trip down to the spa. It wouldn’t be right to say I’d had a particularly stressful year, but it never hurt to have a little relaxation once it was all said and done.
The Ponyville Spa was owned and operated by two sisters, Aloe and Lotus. They ran a tight ship and whenever a major party was about to go down you could be sure that they were up to the brim in business. It always seemed like the mares never took a break to sleep or eat as the Spa seemed to be open 24/7. Maybe they had hired some help. I wondered what it would be like to work in a spa. 
The lobby was crowded with at least twenty frantic mares, all of them twitching in the chairs that occupied the walls and center of the room. Tables lay around with unused fashion magazines, probably already out of style. I was standing by the door while Lily talked with the secretary. Lily was gesturing wildly to the stallion working behind the desk, mostly to herself but sometimes to me.
I tried to see if I could recognize any of the faces in the crowd. None of them looked familiar. Perhaps they weren’t the type to buy flowers or maybe they let their partners do that for them. I wasn’t judging them in either case. Lily had been talking with the stallion at the desk for what felt like an hour. I wasn’t used to standing around in a place like this with a lot of ponies and movement. Twenty or so ponies all packed into a tight room made me feel queasy. All I could think about was walking out the door and counting the roses in the delivery a few more times, just to make sure. Suddenly I felt a warm body at my side. I looked to see Lily staring at me.
“Huh?” I said awkwardly. Lily snickered.
“They’ll take us next,” she said. My jaw dropped.
“But there’s already so many ponies here,” I said, “what in Equestria did you say to her?” Lily looked around nonchalantly.
“I just told her a story of the most dire fashion emergency in the history of Equestria,” she told me, “about a young mare who’s destined to meet her lover at the Gala and is in desperate need of a makeover. The nice stallion said Aloe and Lotus would understand completely.” She motioned me to walk towards the doors that led beyond the waiting room. 
“Won’t they get mad that we’re cutting?” I asked hopelessly, but Lily was beyond answering right now, she looked busy trying to find out where to go. The waiting room had led out into a long hallway that must have stretched the entire length of the building. Doors on either side opened into various relaxation rooms. Soft music played from every corner and the smell of incense hung in the air. “This place is nice,” I said aloud. Lily agreed. From one of the rooms a mare trotted out to greet us.
She was a nice looking mare with a light pink coat, almost as bright as a calla lily. Her mane was a sky blue, like her sister’s coat. I couldn’t get over how piercing her eyes were when she looked us up and down.
“Hello,” she said, “I’m Aloe. I’m told you have a very serious problem indeed.” Her voice was strangely deep for a mare, and had the accent of somepony from outside Equestria. I hadn’t had many words with the two but I’d never noticed it before. It was oddly enticing and I would have loved to hear her talk some more, but she turned around and lead us back to the room she had just left.
Inside the room were two tables, between them a smaller table with oils and other things whose use I couldn’t even imagine. Two stallions were standing around and stretching next to the tables. The outfits they wore did nothing to hide the toned muscles they had underneath their coats. I swallowed reflexively. Lily sent me a funny look. 
“Please lie on your bellies,” Aloe said to us. Lily took no time at all to get comfortable on the table. I sidled over and got on slowly. The stallions were a bit intimidating. The only ponies who’d given me massages were the mares who worked here a few times and Lily on occasion. One stallion walked to where Lily was and I couldn’t see him anymore with my head pointed firmly towards the ground. The other stallion, I assumed, was meant for me. He had a deep crimson coat, his mane was cut short and kept beneath a hat, so I wasn’t sure what it was. He and the other stallion stopped by the smaller table to pick up several vials and cups and brought them over to the table. He laid them against my side. I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to make me feel better or not of if he even thought about that. Several of the jars were warm next to my flank and side. 
I couldn’t hear what he was doing over the sound of my own breathing, but I felt one of the jars being lifted up and a spreading warmth over the small of my back. It was reflex more than anything that made me tense up and nearly knock the oils over. A strong hoof was pressed onto my shoulder, telling me to calm down. 
The hoof was moved and then two strong hooves pushed into my lower back. A tingling mixture of pain and pleasure shot up my spine and lingered around my neck and throat. I stifled a small cry from the pain. The hooves were taken back.
“I’m fine,” I said without the stallion asking, and he resumed pressing and rubbing. The sensations were incredible. A combination of warmth and pressure soon found itself coursing through my whole body. The pushing got lower, and lower until it reached the base of my tail. I let out a small yelp. Luckily the hooves started moving up, further and further along my back until it was over my ribs. I contented myself to relax in the bliss of the massage. As the hooves even then moved up towards my shoulder and forelegs I felt myself turn to putty underneath the experienced hooves of the stallion on top of me.
Beneath my coat and skin the tense muscles gave way to the pushing of the hooves. Slight moans of pleasure started to build in my throat as I started to relax more and more. There was a heat in my body that the pressing and pulling seemed to awaken in my core. I wondered if mares frequently started feeling this good on the table. Did stallions also feel this way with just a massage? I tried to hide whatever form of arousal I might have been showing, keeping my tail down, moans to a minimum.
Yet as suddenly as it had started I felt the hooves leave my back. I looked up to see both stallions wiping their hooves off and Lily getting off her table.
“It’s over?” I asked sadly. Lily strode up to the side of me. 
“It was a ten minute massage, Rose,” she said. I was shocked, there was no way that had felt like two minutes, let alone ten. But my back did feel surprisingly strong and limber. I saw Aloe outside the room waiting for us. I wondered if she did anything but lead ponies around. She probably did when it wasn’t as busy as it was now.
She took us out of the room and led us two doors down where there was a large room filled with individual pools, each with a pony and an attendant. The room wasn’t that large by any means. It had five pools in a pentagon shape with a supply table in the middle. 
“This way please,” Aloe said. She dropped Lily off at a pool next to the door and then lead me to one towards the back of the room. “Please step into the pool,” she said, “you will be helped soon,” and departed. The water was hot to the touch, and I was reluctant to get in. I twisted my head and saw Lily already relaxed and happy in it, talking to the mare that was assisting her. There wasn’t any chance that I was going to disappoint Lily by not having a good time so I grit my teeth and got into the steaming water.
I hoped nopony had heard the ‘squeak’ that I made when the water enveloped me up to the neck. Even laying in the water I  could small flecks of dirt coming out of my coat and being whisked away by a magical current. If anything, now that I was in the heat from the water made my muscles relax even more. I rested my back against the stony wall of the pool and waited for my attendant, probably another stallion. A soft voice spoke out behind me. I turned to see a tall mare that had placed a basket next to my head without me even realizing.
“Rose?” she asked. Her voice was husky like Aloe’s. She had a fine yellow coat and a darker mane. She wore a plain white shirt and shorts that stopped just above the joint. All I could do was nod. Her mane was so perfect, her coat so clean. Jealousy flooded inside me and I sank lower into the pool. The unicorn mare moved the box closer to the water line and asked me to sit up straighter. Begrudgingly I did so. 
The chill of the liquid she poured onto the top of my mane made me shiver even through the warmth of the water, and just like the stallions before her she started to work it in with her hooves. Cold, soapy bubbles started running down my face. The mare pressed exceedingly hard on the top of me head. I struggled briefly under the pressure before succumbing to the force and fell under the water. The hoof held me under for three, four, five seconds, briskly rubbing my mane and neck. When it was removed I raised my head grasping for air.
“You’re trying to kill me!” I yelped through breaths of air. The mare looked at me strangely.
“I was washing your mane, ma’am.” She started to rub more of the goop into my hair. The process repeated itself three more times, except she warned me before dunking me down. After the third time she started to get into the water herself. I pulled myself closer to the wall.
“What are you doing?” I squeaked, my voice rising in pitch as she got into the water. It wasn’t like she could see anything she hadn’t before, and the water was now a darker shade, hiding anything worth hiding. She kept a bemused expression.
“I need to wash your coat and then you’re all done,” she said. She stepped through the pool of water towards me I did my best to relax my body. Lily had been kind enough to get us this ‘appointment’ I didn’t want to ruin it. The mare got close enough to touch and had me stand up in the water with just the tip of my back and my neck and head above the water. I hadn’t realized how tall the attendant was, she was out of the water up to her haunches. She started to pour another liquid on me, this time it was warm like the water. Carefully she started to rub in the shampoo like she had for my mane. After the shampoo, she had me step out of the water, the air in the room seemed freezing, and she rubbed me down with oils.
I saw Lily walk up to me as the attendant finished with the oil wash. She gleamed in the lights of the room, she looked amazing and incredibly happy. Lily beamed when she saw me looking better than I normally do, happier too probably.
“You look great, Rose,” she said, “A pony would be crazy not to fall in love with you.” I couldn’t help but blush again. 
“Thanks, Lily. You look great too!” I tried to match the enthusiasm she normally had. Lily turned scarlet under her pink coat.
“Rose...,” she muttered. Her next words were cut off by Aloe coming back to meet us. She led us to the door to the waiting room, thanking us profusely for coming to the spa and choosing them for their services. As we left I realized I hadn’t paid for anything at all. I told Lily just that. She laughed it off. “I took care of it, Rose. Don’t be silly, it was my treat.” My jaw dropped.
“Lily no,” I said pleadingly, “let me pay you back. You didn’t have to do that.” She waved me off. 
“You can get the cost of the dress,” she said. Lily looked up at the gleaming sun. I couldn’t do anything else but take a glance as well. The sun was just starting its descent towards the horizon. Already the thick, dark grey clouds of Winter clung to the sky, threatening to blot out the sun once and for all. The pegasi had kept the clouds away until into September, which was a welcome change. Against my slick coat the warmth of the sun made me feel like I was queen of the world. It honestly felt really good, I thought, to be a girly-mare even if it was just for a few days. Spa trip, getting a nice dress made, even going to the Gala in Canterlot. Everything felt so nice and clean right then. I giggled in the street at nothing more than feeling happy, feeling like nothing could go wrong at all.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Rose, I just don’t know if there’s time for a gala dress,” Rarity said. A leaden weight seemed to dangle overhead, threatening to knock me down. Rarity had let us in to her boutique with no qualms. Only when we’d brought up the prospect of having a dress made did she start to seems a little hesitant. It had come to a boil when Lily flat-out asked if she could do it.

“It’s fine, Rarity,” I said, not wanting to make a scene. Lily didn’t look happy with that: again she pleaded with Rarity.

“Do you have anything you could just modify to fit her?” she begged. Rarity looked thoughtful and glanced around the room. When the two of us had started asking about dresses she’d taken us up to her workroom. The walls were lined with bolts of fabrics, stencils, cut-outs, and a plethora of other materials. An entire wall was taken up with parts and dresses in different stages of completion. “Could you piece something together for her?” Lily looked like she was on the verge of tears.

‘What an actress,’ I thought to myself. Rarity took to the closet, starting at one end and working her way to the other. It was sorted like the rainbow, red to violet. She stopped briefly in the blues to take out a cut-out colored a beautiful blue, like a sapphire. She trotted over to me and laid it over my back, so the fabric barely covered between my legs on either side. The fabric felt cold, like it had been kept in a cooler. It tingled my skin under the coat.

Rarity was already looking for more color choices at the racks. 

“I really do hope I can help you, dear,” she said over her shoulder.

“Anything you can do is good enough for me,” I said awkwardly. I felt bad that she’d had to do extra work for me already. Darn that Lily for inviting me to the Gala! Already she’d spent out of pocket for me when she didn’t have to. Sometimes she was my best friend but other times she was too protective.

“Now,” Rarity said, snapping me out of my thoughts, “I was thinking of a nice blue dress to complement your mane.” She took a much longer piece of fabric and laid it over the first piece and left it to trail over my flank and tail. “Is it too heavy for you, Rose?” I shook my head. The second piece was just as blue as the first piece but had been embroidered in a floral design, sadly not roses. Rarity brought over a pin cushion and some thread, threaded the needle, and began to piece the cloths together. I sucked my belly in closer when Rarity started to work on the underside and she tsk’d me. “I need a looser fit, Rose. Nopony’s going to mind.” Reluctantly I listened to her and she began working again.

“Who are you going with?” she asked, trying to start small talk.

“Lily and I are going together,” I said. I noticed Rarity was blushing so I added, “as friends,” quickly. 

“I won two tickets,” Lily said from the side of us, “And Rose just had to go.” Rarity smirked.

“I understand,” she murmured. “You know, I went to the Gala a few times, even with Twilight before she became a Princess.”

“I never heard that,” I said, shocked. “What was the Gala like?”

“Oh dear,” Rarity said, “It was pretty boring the times I went, so I stopped going. It’s a lot of stress setting up all the appointments and getting everything ready.” Rarity noticed me looking apprehensive. “But it’s a lot better now I hear. Twilight still goes of course, Pinkie too. Other than that the rest of us girls just stay in Ponyville.”

“Are there always a lot of ponies everywhere?” I asked. The question had been hiding in my mind ever since I’d been invited along.

“Yes,” she said without a second thought, “It’s the largest party in Equestria. There’s ponies everywhere.” I shrank down, worried about the party.

“Rose, no,” Lily pleaded. Rarity looked at her, confused. “Rose is scared of crowds.”

“I’m not scared of crowds,” I said, voice wavering. “I just don’t like them is all.”

“The quickest cure is just to dive right in,” Rarity said consolingly. She offered a hoof to help me up. I hadn’t realized I’d fallen off my hooves to my side. My cheeks burned as I got up. 

“Sorry,” I muttered, face still rosy.

“I’ve been telling her the same thing, Rarity,” Lily said, “But she won’t listen.” Rarity stayed silent for a moment, taking great care with the fragmented dress. She spoke, however, when she went to get another piece for it. 

“I don’t know if the Gala is the best place to get over her fears though,” she said. Rarity came back with a neck-piece and placed it over my head. She took a step back to where Lily stood. “Regardless of the idea of the Gala, I think this dress is a success. I just have to finishing attaching it. You two can run along. Let me help you out of it, Rose.” She stepped up next to me and took the dress by the front, pulling it over my shoulder and still damp mane. When I saw it floating in her magical levitation, I knew that it was going to be a beautiful dress.

“I can’t thank you enough for doing this, Rarity,” I said earnestly. 

“I’m sorry I couldn't make you anything better,” she said.

“This is already better than I could have imagined,” I admitted. I couldn’t help but watch as she placed the dress on a mannequin. “How much do I owe you?” But she wouldn’t hear a word of it.

“It’s no cost, Rose,” she scoffed, raising a hoof to stop me getting my bits out. “I just threw some things together.” She shrugged. I grumbled silently, and felt Lily next to me. She was smiling weakly at me.

“Rarity said it was fine, Rose.” She knew I was upset on the inside, but I had no idea how much of it I was showing and whether or not she may have been reading my mind. Rarity trotted off to a sewing machine and began to work, silently telling us that we were free to go. “Should we come back later?” Lily asked over the din of machinery.

“Come back tomorrow afternoon,” Rarity called back. With that she turned her head from us and began to work dutifully on the cloths, fabrics, and gems in front of her. I turned and trailed Lily out of the boutique and onto the Ponyville commons.

The sky around us was turning a deepening orange as the sun got lower and lower in its run along the sky. The ponies that remained outside were all either going to eat or playing with each other. It was an idyllic evening, perfectly matching the rest of the day. I felt now, with Lily by my side, that I could do anything and be anypony. Lily was stretching her legs out as we walked along one of the wide Ponyville streets.

“You want dinner, Rose?” she asked. I could see a of hunger in her eyes as she spoke to me. A fit of hunger made itself known in my belly, growling and roaring for something to eat. Lily noticed it too and started to giggle.

“I’d love to,” I said to not much effect. She and I both knew we’d be getting dinner together anyways. It would have been rude, I imagined, to not take up her offer anyway. She’d been so nice today that I’d have to make it up somehow. Lily was walking ahead of me, back to her house, giggling and swaying her hips merrily. How could I ever pay back this mare, my friend? She’d bought me a spa treatment and gotten me a dress. Now on top of all that dinner included. She really was too nice to me.

Lily’s house was down the street from mine and a lot nicer. Instead of a studio apartment above her store she had half a house with Daisy. It had always made me a little jealous when I’d opted not to join them but we were all happy so it wasn’t a big deal. Daisy and Lily lived in a two story house, both bedrooms upstairs with all the rest on the first floor. I was sitting on the couch awkwardly. Lily had told me to stay put while she threw something together.

The living room was sparse by my standards, at least of places to sit. They had a couch and a single seat next to it. Around the room were various potted plants, all of them in full bloom. In front of the couch was a coffee table littered with magazines and unused coasters. I picked up a magazine, trying my best to ignore the aromas coming out of the kitchen. There was something sensuous about the aroma coming across my nose. 

It was a savoury smell, a smell of something that you knew wasn’t going to be good for you at all but you just had to keep taking one more bite of it. My poor aching tummy wasn’t having any of it, and it wanted some food badly. Lily had been adamant in not telling me what she would be making, and I was dying to find out. 

The magazine I picked up was a girly magazine, Daisy’s I imagined, and was dog-eared profusely around the how to be attractive section. My cheeks reddened at the thought of what might have been going through Daisy’s mind when she read this. Luckily it wasn’t all about sex, and I found a decent article on how to style your mane. I skimmed it, thinking about the Gala. What would my mane look like? I had assumed that I was just going to keep it the same, but was that okay? I told myself that I’d ask Rarity what she’d do to it and try that. Rarity knew what she was doing.	

“Dinner’s ready, Rose,” Lily called from the kitchen. I bounded off the couch and walked a little faster than I had to towards the dining room they had. The table was large enough for four ponies, each on their own side. On two connected sides Lily had set up places to sit. In the middle were candles already lit which gave the room and warm and close feeling. I sat down, back to the kitchen, wondering where Lily was. She came up behind me, placing her head on my neck. “Hungry?” she asked coyly. I nodded.

I had planned on saying yes, but something had gotten caught in my throat with her being so close to me and talking in that manner. I reflected on why as she placed two plates in front of us. She’d made pasta with a dark sauce that steamed, and what looked like clams as well. I’d never been a mare for seafood but if Lily liked them I imagined I could too. 

She watched me as we ate, never staring too long however. I looked away, burying my eyes in the pasta before me. I focused, instead, on eating and enjoying the food. But it tasted strange, unlike how it should. There was a bitter taste to it.

“Is it any good?” she asked. My face must have said something that I hadn’t meant it to. I looked up to her and smiled.

“Yeah,” I lied, “it’s great, Lily.” She smiled at me. The light gleamed on her bright smile.

“I’m glad you like it,” she said. She took another bite, savoring it. She added, with a smirk, “Don’t forget to save room for dessert.” I swallowed another forkful of the clam pasta. I had to shake myself out of my head. Lily’s my best friend, she wouldn’t try to pull anything over on me. But questions still pestered me. ‘What’s happening right now?’ was all I could think of. I had to just keep eating, a pit in my stomach that I was hoping to fill with food. 

I looked back at Lily, she wasn’t watching me like she had. Instead she had her head on her hooves and was staring dreamily into the candles. A smile flickered onto her like the candlelight she looked at. Already I was relaxing, the food tasted better and I felt happier being here.

When both of us had finished the pasta, Lily brought out the plates giggling devilishly. She left me sitting at the table, close to full, feeling incredibly warm and fuzzy. All the thoughts of Lily were gone, and now she was just my best friend again. Why had I ever thought she was up to something I wondered. She came back with a large bowl of ice cream, all different flavors, with chocolate coated strawberries littering the top. She only had one bowl, but two spoons.  She placed it in front of me and sat back down.

“I hope you like the sundae,” she said. I picked up a spoon and started to dig in. The ice cream was the perfect temperature, left out just long enough where it wouldn’t be frozen but easy to scoop. We had to work fast to eat it all before it would spill over the side of the dish and onto the tablecloth. The strawberries were a welcome difference in texture, to stave off a brain freeze. Lily didn’t say much of anything at all while we ate. She kept glancing at the candle and then back to herself.

As the ice cream and the hunger faded they were replaced by a surge of sleepiness, and I excused myself to go lay on the couch. Lily nodded and hurried to put the dishes and such back in the kitchen. I sprawled out lazily on the couch, the whole length taken up by my body, hindlegs and head on the armrests. It was a warm and comfy couch, I reflected. One that I wished was in my shop instead of the old sagging one resting there now. I closed my eyes, wondering if I was going to sleep over at Lily’s tonight and get my dress in the morning.

I heard Lily trot into the room, her hooves getting louder and louder. I wanted to say something, let her know I was still awake, but I was wiped out. The day had been surprisingly taxing for some odd reason, probably more so when I had been putting the roses for the Gala together than when I was pampered at the spa or with Rarity. The strangely familiar weight of Lily joined me on the couch. The only thing that pained me was when she rested herself right on top of me, squishing my stuffed belly. I giggled as her mane brushed up against my neck. She must have her head right above mine, I imagined. Why would she do that?

Something strange brushed up against my narrowly parted lips. I opened my eyes in shock. Lily had her face against mine, eyes closed, lips touching. I reeled back in horror. She pulled back as well, eyes wide with fear.

“What are you doing?” I squeaked out. I’d lost my voice suddenly. As if my mouth didn’t want to believe what had just happened. Surely it had been a mistake, she’d fallen, she hadn’t meant to do it. But Lily wasn’t looking at me, and she was blushing, I could see tears welling up behind her eyes. “Lily?” I asked again, louder this time.

She murmured something I couldn’t hear. She was backing up against the other end, as if being next to me was poisonous to her. I tried to say something else, but I couldn’t. Everything was placing itself together. Of course she had liked me, how could I have been so blind?

“I’m sorry, Rose,” Lily stammered out between lightly gasping breaths. She was up and over the side of the couch and landed on her back. The dam broke and she started to sob.

“L-Lily,” I stuttered. My insides felt hot like an all too sunny day, but my blood was running cold as a river in winter. I swallowed every word I wanted to say. I had to get out of the room, out of her house. I leapt off the couch and started running. Running for home and safety from whatever had just happened.

As I burst out into the cool night air I had nothing to do but process the situation. Why didn’t she tell me that she liked me? What if she loved me? The thoughts racing through my mind made me uncomfortable and queasy. I had never thought of the possibility of a mare and myself in a relationship, let alone Lily and I. 

But how could I have just left? What kind of friend did that make me? Lily wouldn’t have left me alone to wallow in sadness if I’d done the same to her. I stopped in my tracks in the middle of my street. In the distance I could see my place, warm and inviting. If I turned back now I would be in chaos for who knows how long. If I kept my course there wasn’t any chance I’d be able to look myself in the mirror again. I turned around, racing towards Lily’s. You’re so stupid, Rose, I admonished myself. I shouldn’t have left in the first place. I only hoped Lily was okay.

When I got back into her house she was gone. I checked the kitchen, living room, and bathroom, all to no avail. Only when I got upstairs did I hear the light, muffled sobbing through her door. I tried the handle but it was locked. I contented myself with leaning my back against the door.

“Lily?” I called out. The sobbing stopped for a moment.

“Go away,” she said weakly. I sighed, hoping she wouldn’t hear.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“There’s nothing to talk about. You must think I’m a pervert or something.” I shook my head unseen.

“I don’t think that, Lily.” She must feel like the world’s against her, how could I do anything to help her now. A strange urge was building up inside of me. A compassionate glow begging me to say something to her, anything that could help her at all.

“Two flowers can never be the same,” I started to say, the words were flowing without me even thinking about them. Lily didn’t know that I wrote poetry, but she knew I liked reading it. “You can bring them close, they’ll grow together, but more than that you’ll never see. Is it bad that they don’t meld with each other? Or was it the most beautiful that they stayed separate but together?” I heard something moving close to the door.

“Did you read that somewhere, Rose?” Lily asked from beyond the door. She must have gotten off the bed while I’d been speaking. I smiled at her question and buried my head in my hooves.

“No,” I admitted, “I just made it up.” The door opened a crack and I could see Lily trying her best to avoid my sight. 
“In that case it was really cheesy,” she said, giggling, tears still matting her cheeks. 

“You can come out, Lily. I still like you.” Lily still wasn’t catching my gaze. She sat down opposite of me in the other room, our backs against the same wall and I could see her through the now open door.

“I’ve messed everything up, Rose,” Lily said almost calmly. At least she wasn’t crying anymore, that was a  start. “I can’t believe I tried to kiss you.” A knot in my stomach flipped when she mentioned the kiss. My hind hooves pawed the floor while we talked.

“I’m sure you had a reason,” I muttered. Lily mumbled in response. “I’m sorry I freaked out on you.” Everything I wanted to say just felt awkward and forced. I couldn’t help but beat myself up over the whole ordeal. If only I hadn’t been so blind to Lily in the first place. What kind of a friend am I? “Did you like me?” I asked.

Lily looked up. “Rose? Yeah.” I swallowed my next question. Something deep inside of me wanted to know if she still did. Lily had stopped crying now, she was leaning with her eyes closed, drifting off to sleep if I had any guess. The only sounds came from the two of us breathing in our own emotions.

“How did you know you...,” my throat tightened and I could even fathom speaking the next few words. My body shook with the force keeping my voice locked up inside. Lily opened her eyes and stared at me. Her gaze made it harder to speak. “How...”

“Rose...,” she said slowly and quietly, “you can ask me anything.” I tried to speak again, couldn’t and gave up. I buried my head in my hooves again. There was no way I was going to ask Lily that question. I preferred the darkness covering my eyes afforded me, it wasn’t right in front of a pony who’d kissed me, the first pony ever to kiss me. I heard Lily dragging herself closer, but slowly. It made sense that she wouldn’t want to rush up to touch me in case I was still shocked. She was the most understanding friend I’d had. The familiar weight of Lily resting on me flooded into my head. All I could think about was her touch again. I could feel tears welling up in me. It felt like I was just a terrible pony for even thinking of asking Lily while she felt so bad herself. I could hear a small whine growing in my throat.

“I’m sorry I’m a mess,” I said to Lily. My voice was wavering and weak. “Please don’t hate me.”

“I would never hate you, Rose,” she said softly. “And if anything at least we’re both being messes together.” I wanted to ask her so badly, the question was burning in my head and clenching my throat shut with quaking fear. Lily rubbed her muzzle along my neck and it felt better than the massage. I took my head out of my hooves; I had to ask. 

“How did you know you... l-liked me?” I asked, forcing every word out. Lily scanned the room.

“Um,” she muttered. Lily didn’t stop leaning on me, instead she pulled me closer in a hug. “I just realized that I had feelings for you, Rose. You were always there for me. I just started to fall in love.” Her explanation had a dream-like quality to it. The room was starting to get hot. I wasn’t sure if it was Lily leaning on me, she had never seemed to make me sweat before but I could feel the beads starting to form under my coat.

“How did you find out you liked mares?” I blurted out. Immediately I wanted to take the words back and bury them deep. Oooh, she’s going to think I’m a creep for asking, or that I’m weird. Lily stopped searching the room and put her head next to mine.

“I think it was just something I knew one day,” she stated matter of factly, like it was just as easy as that. “Why do you ask?”

“I just... I never thought about it,” I said quietly. I hoped she’d hear something else and just take it as an answer. But she couldn’t hear it and she asked me to repeat myself. “I’ve never thought about it before,” I said louder.

“But haven’t you...?” Lily began to ask, but she stopped and started to think instead. Around Lily and Daisy I’d never had any sort of romance, nothing to write home about. I had been a single mare all my life. It made me a little sad to think about that. Every mare and stallion I knew that was my age had been in a relationship in some manner, and I had nothing. “I never knew you were questioning yourself,” she muttered and pulled me in tighter. It struck me then how quickly the roles had been reversed. Why couldn’t I be as good as her?

“I’m not,” I snapped back, harsher than I meant to. Lily seemed taken aback but she never stopped hugging me. “I just don’t know, is all.”

“We can talk about this downstairs,” she offered. I shook my head. All I could think about was the awkwardness it would bring, how strange it was now. I felt lightheaded. I moved to push Lily off me so I could get up and get some air. I didn’t have to push her as she let go when I started to get up.

“What’s wrong, Rose?” she asked. There was real compassion on her voice, but I couldn’t focus on that, or anything in the room. I needed nothing more than to clear my head. Lily stood back as I rushed down the stairs. Lily called out after me. “Rose?” I didn’t know what she was thinking. The room was spinning as fast as my head when I bolted out of Lily’s house into the now freezing night air.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The sunlight glistened against the glass on my nightstand. Once full of an amber liquid now only a little remained. I’d needed it to steady myself and to sleep. Lily hadn’t come by in the night, of that much I was sure. Acknowledging what I’d done left a dark pit in my stomach. When I took my head off the pillow I could see the stains my tears had left.

“Why are you still thinking about it?” I asked myself. But there wasn’t a thing I could do besides think about. All night thoughts of Lily had pestered me and wormed their way into the forefront of my mind. Eventually the process had led itself to a conclusion of being a giant mess and I fell asleep crying.

I sat up on the bed, hoping something would take my attention away from my thoughts. The Gala? The Gala was tomorrow, Rarity would have my dress ready by now. It had to be nearing noon at the least. How in Equestria could I look Lily in the eyes now? My mind grappled onto the image of her again. A single thought stood resolute and clear against the other chaos.

I like Lily. And it wasn’t even that I liked her as a friend, it felt deeper and more meaningful. There was only one thing it could mean, and that was love. I’d never been in love before. I’d liked ponies, but I’d never felt like this. I needed to talk with somepony, but Daisy was out of town and Lily was going to be a problem. She’d always accept me, however, no matter what I said or felt. Lily had said that before. I didn’t know many ponies besides those two, at least not well enough to bring this to them.

But just when I’d decided to talk to Lily, there was a knock at the door. I flopped off the bed, trotted out of my room and made my way to the door. There was another knock while I made my way.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“It’s Lily, Rose.” I bit my lower lip and opened the door. Lily stood on the other side, almost a reflection of me in the physical sense, but she seemed to glow emotionally. There wasn’t an easy way to describe it, but looking at her made me happy. “Can I come in?” I nodded and she walked by, taking care not to brush up too close to me. She sat down on one of the chairs I had, and gave a forced smile.

“Hey, Lily,” I said. A little life made its way into her smile.

“How are you feeling, Rose?” she asked. I looked away from her gaze and sat down across from her.

“Oh, I’m feeling better.” I wasn’t lying, but I didn’t feel good at all. Everything hurt. Lily just kept on being so empathetic towards me it made me feel awful for being so unkind to her.

“You sure scared me last night. I wasn’t sure whether I should get a doctor to look after you.” The air in my apartment was stuffy. I hadn’t noticed it before but it was very hard to move at all, especially with Lily here, increasing whatever pressure there was. I wondered if she felt it too. 

“I’m sorry I freaked out, Lily,” I blurted out. I hadn’t meant to say anything yet and was still contemplating my next action.
“Rose,” she said slowly and carefully. “I understand what you’re going through. It’s okay.” Did she understand? Of course she could, she had to have gone through this once on her own. Had she had a Lily of her own to help her?

“I don’t think I’m going through anything,” I muttered. Lily was the shrewdest pony I knew and she could see through me.

“Rose, I want to ask you a question. Is that okay?” I shook my head. Lily had a pained expression, it made me feel sour again. “Roseluck,” she said again. when Lily used my full name, I knew she was serious. “I just have one question. It’s very important, I think, for the both of us.”

“What’s the question?” I mumbled. I didn’t want to know what she thought, in case she was angry at me. I couldn’t handle her being angry at me right now, not Lily, not ever.

“Do you think you like me?” She asked in the calmest voice I’d ever heard. It was pristine, idyllic, like were weren’t here in the cramped apartment on a single mare that didn’t know who she was anymore. I didn’t say anything, hoping the silence would answer and that Lily would be happy with whatever she heard.

She wasn’t, however. Lily frowned at me, weakening my resolve.

“I don’t know,” I said. Her frown did not let up.

“Are you sure you don’t know, Roseluck?” I didn’t want to think on it while she was here. “You can trust me, Rose.” She was back to calling me her friend. A few more words and we could hug again probably. I was in a limbo of wanting very deeply to embrace her and to get as far away as I could. 

Lily had a sadness in her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to help me right now and I was letting her down. How soon, I wondered, until she gave up on me and left. 

“I know something’s the matter, Rose. I don’t know what I can do to help you.” I wanted to bury my head in the chair’s cushions. If I couldn’t see her she couldn’t see me. “I’m your friend, and I always will be. If last night was my fault please tell me, Rose. I just want to see you happy.” I did want to answer her in some way. I would say anything now to make her happy. Lily had never been this depressed around me.

“I...,” I stalled. Just a moment ago it had seemed easy to talk about how I felt, but now words seemed to fail me. Lily realized my hesitance immediately.

“We’ll always be friends, Rose. No matter what.” I wanted to cry again, but I knew I couldn’t. For my sake or for hers I had to keep it together. She deserved the truth.

“I do,” I said, trying my hardest to seem confident. Lily just nodded, and sat back a little deeper in the cushions.

“What do you think about that?” She asked. The fur along my neck prickled. 

“I think mares liking mares is fine,” I said.

“Do you think you liking mares is fine?” She’d seen through my wide answer. It was no good not to be direct around her. I shuffled nervously in my seat. We’d been friends for years now and I’d never felt quite this uncomfortable.

“Lily,” I tried to fight her questions off, “Shouldn’t we get my dress for the Gala?”

“It’s not good to bottle things like this up, Rose,” Lily said.

“I’ve just never thought of myself with a mare,” I said, somewhat honestly.

“There’s nothing wrong with two mares or two stallions in love, Rose.”

“I didn’t say that there is,” I said quickly. She motioned for me to let her finish.

“And when I say that, I mean there’s nothing wrong with one of those mares being you, Rose.”

“But what if I don’t...?” She shrugged.

“I can’t answer that for you,” she said flatly. I guess she couldn’t. She cleared her throat. “What do you think about?”

“What do you mean?” My eyebrows raised.

“Surely you think about something, or somepony, when you...” She looked around nervously.

“When I... do what, Lily?” I wanted to pretend so hard that she wasn’t insinuating what I thought she was. There was no way she’d talk about that now.

“Just something everypony does, Rose.” She was talking about that. I crossed my legs and blushed.

“Lily!” I shouted. She was doing her best not to blush too.

“It’s not easy for me to talk about either, Rose,” she said, “But I think it’s good for you to talk about it.”

“But do you need to know about what I do when I’m doing that?” She looked away too.

“Well it wasn’t my first topic of choice...,” she muttered. It wasn’t like it had to be any particular thing either when I became intimate. It could be anypony. It could even be Lily. My blushing intensified.

“It’s only fair that you go first,” I said.

“That’s fine,” Lily said with a sigh of relief that some of the tension was leaving. “I think about mares.”

“What kind of mares?” I asked.

“Pretty mares, Rose,” she admitted.

“Am I a pretty mare?” I asked quickly. Whatever tension had left was back with friends. But Lily was made of something stronger than I.

“You’re a beautiful mare, Rose.” My insides melted knowing she thought I was pretty, let alone beautiful. I’d always thought the same, deep down, about her. Lily started staring at me intensely. “Now you need to tell me what you think about,” she said, “To be fair and all.” I wondered if there was a different reason she wanted to know.

“Oh, you know,” I said, trying to act casual about it. “I just think about normal things.” Lily snorted.

“Normal things? You like to imagine you’re gardening?”

“Well no, not that normal,” I shyly. Lily smiled coyly.

“Come on, Rose. I’m sure you have some sort of kink that you like to think about.” She was being incredibly playful. But what did I think about, really, and how could I tell her?

“I just think about things that feel nice,” I admitted. I could feel the heat from my cheeks, and as ridiculous as it was I was sure Lily could too. It made me want to bury my face in the couch again. All Lily did was roll her eyes.

“You’re telling me you don’t visualize some young stallion or lusty mare just-”.

“Lily!” I cut Lily off, yelping. 

“I’m just trying to be real, Rose,” she said reproachfully. “And it’s a little bit fun to wind you up,” she added. “I could go into more detail about what I like to give you some ideas.” I shook my head rapidly. Surely she wouldn’t, but she did anyway. “Whenever I get in the mood, there’s a young, excited mare ready to be ravished by yours truly.” I could feel the room getting warmer and warmer as Lily went further into her dreams and desires.

“I think we need to get my dress,” I squeaked. Lily snapped out of her dream-like stupor.

“Are you sure you still want to go to the Gala?” she asked. I nodded. “Remember, there’s going to be a lot of ponies there.”

“If I can manage being in this room while you talk about your ‘kinks’ I think I can handle a crowd for a night,” I said confidently. Lily beamed.

“Rose, you are growing into a fine young mare!” she exclaimed. 

“We’re the same age,” I said bristling with a little indignation.

“Not in my fantasies you aren’t,” she giggled. I covered my eyes with my hooves. There was no way in Equestria Lily had just admitted to thinking of me that way. I heard Lily get up and creep over to me. “Let’s just get your dress, shall we?” I nodded. I followed her lead and we left my apartment side by side. 

Rarity’s boutique was open but devoid of customers. We found her sitting in the atrium next to a white and purple filly, probably a cousin. Rarity was listening to the younger pony’s story when we trotted in. 

“And then Applebloom thought the best idea would be to make our own fireworks because nopony would sell them to us,” the filly explained excitedly. Rarity was the opposite of excited.

“Let me talk to Applejack about that before you begin, Sweetie,” she said. Her head turned to us when I closed the door. “Run along for now,” she said to the filly. She trotted over and smiled brightly. “It took a little bit of time but your dress is completed.”

“That’s great, Rarity,” I said. “I can’t wait to see it.” She nodded.

“Of course, of course, just follow me upstairs, I want to see how it fits.” Lily and I followed her back to the fitting room of yesterday. On one of the mannequins was an elegant, sapphire blue dress. The chest piece shaped up to the neck with a brilliant heart, the edges inlaid with sparkling gems. From the back the dress flowed to halfway down the mannequin’s tail. Rarity picked up the dress and floated it towards me. I plucked the dress from the air delicately and slipped it on. It fit against my body snugly. I felt, to put it lightly, beautiful.

“This is amazing, Rarity,” I said exuberantly. “Please, let me pay you for it.” Rarity held up a hoof. 

“It was my pleasure, Roseluck. And besides, you’ll need all the bits you can to get a hair appointment.” My jaw dropped, I’d forgotten about my mane. It had been washed at the spa but for the life of me I couldn’t style it. Before I knew it I was biting my lip nervously. What ponies could style manes? Lily caught my eyes with a smirk.

“Relax, Rose. I’ve got it all taken care of,” she remarked smoothly. My brow furrowed.

“Are you going to take care of it the same way you did at the spa?” Lily snickered.

“Nope. I’m going to style your mane for you.” 

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Lily, but I wasn’t sure she could style manes. Admittedly she worked on hers more than I worked on mine, so she must know something. I slipped off the dress so Rarity could put it on a hanger for me to take home. She put it in a dress bag that would protect it in the closet which I offered to pay for as well but she declined again.

Once again Lily and I were walking through Ponyville, but with a dress slung over my back like a saddle.

“Can you really style manes?” I asked. Lily chuckled.

“I sure can,” she said, “And so you don’t have another panic attack, the tickets came with carriage ride to and from Canterlot so we’ve got that covered too.” I hadn’t even started to worry about the transportation either. Lily was some sort of a miracle worker when she thought ahead. “You hungry?”

“I think I know where this is going,” I said jokingly. Lily bumped into my playfully.

“Oh come on, Rose. The food was in earnest, I promise that much. You just looked so cute on the couch...,” she trailed off. I was happy that Lily being into me was getting some sort of normal. I didn’t feel sick at least, which was a great start. It also made me wonder what Lily would have looked like in my position. Would I have kissed her?

“Do you want to get something to eat?” I asked her. She shrugged.

“We could eat at my place again and then I’ll do your hair.” 


At Lily’s place I had a change of heart. It turned out that I wasn’t so hungry, but nervous instead. I told her that and she contemplated it, noodles still hanging from her muzzle. She had just reheated what was left from last night.

“It’s fine to be nervous, Rose. You can have your mane styled by a lesbian mare without it being awkward.”

“I was thinking about the Gala,” I said, lying. Lily took another bite of pasta.

“Oops,” she murmured. “Well excuse me for having naughty thoughts.”

“You weren’t this sexual before,” I noted.

“The floodgate has been opened, Rose, and to be fair maybe you just didn’t notice it.” I scrunched my nose, thinking. It seemed like Lily had always, in a sense, been a little more friendly than any other pony.

“I guess.” Lily picked up the dish and carried it off the kitchen. When she returned she had a devilish grin and fire in her eyes.

“I hope you’re ready to be cared for, Rose,” she said with a maniacal laugh. Lily pranced out of the room, towards the bathroom, giggling all the while. I followed her after a second’s delay. 

Lily and Daisy’s bathroom was filled to the brim with beauty supplies. I had no idea how the two mares knew which bottle, spray, or lotion was whose. One entire wall was taken up by a counter and full length mirror. Lily was preparing scissors, rollers, and plenty of sprays. She was eyeing me suspiciously.

“Are you sure you can do this?” I asked warily. She waved me off. 

“You need to put your trust in your dear friend, Lily.” I walked into the room and took my place next to her, in front of one of the two sinks. “I think I’ve got a good look for you in mind. There was a long photoset a while back of manestyles from the Canterlot wedding. I really think you’d look good in one of those.” Lily turned on the water, looking for the right temperature.

“How are you going to style yours?” Lily shrugged.

“Haven’t thought about mine, Rose. This is about you.” I grumbled something in reply. Lily really needed to think about herself more. Lily put a hoof on the back of my head and dipped my head into the warm water. I wished I’d had time to get a breath before she did it, but luckily she didn’t take long. When she took the hoof off I came up gasping for air.
“That’s wasn’t very nice,” I snapped. Lily frowned sheepishly.

“It’s the best way to stimulate the scalp, Rose,” she explained, “I read it in a magazine once.”

“What kind of magazine?” I asked. She didn’t say anything to that. She merely tightened the strange, black cloak she'd placed around my neck. Lily took care to make sure that it kept under my mane so she could get at it. Then, with much apparent joy, she picked up a long pair of scissors and a comb.

“Are you ready?” she asked. I nodded. There wasn’t much I could do to get out of it now. Lily worked diligently. Cutting, combing, moving and snipping my mane. The din of running water and snipping scissors filled the bathroom with an echo. I couldn’t even keep my eyes open to watch her. One reason because I didn’t want to get stray hair in my eye, the other because secretly I was worried it was going to look awful.

Luckily she didn’t take long cutting, and instead started placing rollers in my hair. She placed them between my ears and a few in the mane along my neck. Finally Lily put a hoof on my shoulder and let out a contented sigh. I opened my eyes slowly. The haircut wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t sure it was good in its current state. I’d have to see it in the morning.  Lily stepped back.

“I love it,” I said with provocation. Lily had another mischievous look about her. “What?”

“It’s time for you to learn how to dance. With me as your teacher. Meet me downstairs!” She turned and trounced off towards the living room. I scrunched my muzzle at the prospect of learning to dance with Lily. It was worrying enough that I could freak out at any second, due to the close contact and my feelings still in turmoil even though I’d forgotten them momentarily. I knew that they could return at any second and sweep me off my hooves.

In another room I could hear the scraping of wood on wood, the furniture being moved into different locations. I started to walk, but my knees were shaking. I hadn’t danced in years and never well. Lily had moved all the furniture in the living room to the walls, giving us a large enough space to trot about in. She was panting slightly when I walked in, her eyes looking for something. I was halfway across the room when she spotted it. 

Lily bounded to one corner of the room and dug deep in a chest of clutter. Out of it she pulled a small music box.

“That’s a pretty box, Lily,” I said. It had ornate, multi-colored carvings on a white, wooden surface. When she opened the latch that held the cap on music began to pour out, filling the room with a classical vibe. Music boxes were my favorite part of unicorn magic. Somehow they captured entire symphonies within boxes and crystals. But I couldn’t stay focused on the box forever. Lily had put it down and moved closer to me.

“So, Rose,” she began, “where do you want to begin?” My hoof was scuffing the floor, mixing with the sound of music.

“I don’t know?” I hazarded. Lily looked at me playfully. 

“Come on, Rose, you know how to do some moves don’t you?”

“I can stand still pretty well.” Lily stepped up, face to face with me. 

“You need to stand up, Rose,” she ordered.

“But I am.” Lily massaged her temple, frowning. 

“Not like that,” she said. “You need to get out there, do things!” She walked around so that she was next to me, nuzzling my neck. “You’re a pretty special pony, you know that don’t you?” Personally I hadn’t really known or thought that but she didn’t need to know that much.

“I am?” She nodded. “Why?” Lily always had a way of letting me know that I wasn’t being the mare she knew I was, whatever that meant, and she was doing it now. I turned my head away from hers, but it was still rubbing on my neck.

“Because you’re my best friend, that’s why. And you are a beautiful mare.” My heart skipped when she said I was beautiful. Why did it feel that way to hear her say that? It didn’t make any sense. She’d talked like that before, but it’d never made me feel this way. “It’s true. You can’t hide that fact that you’re good-looking.” I turned my head back and she continued nuzzling. “This isn’t awkward to you, is it?” She said. Her head reeled back quickly. “I’m sorry if I was too weird, Rose.”

“N-no,” I blurted out. “It was fine,” I said more calmly. It was nice to have Lily close, she was a great friend for helping me whenever I’d needed her. And it made her happy to be close with me and frankly it made me happy too. With that she walked towards the front of me and stared me in the eyes.

“Okay, Rose. No more beating around the bush. I’m going to teach you how to dance. Dancing is all about feeling with the music. Now watch me.” Lily stepped back and starting moving her body rhythmically. She picked her hooves up and waved them around, all of it making no sense to me at all. It was going to be a rough night.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Do you need anything, Rose?” I tried not looking at Lily at all. She sat across from me in the carriage. The tickets had come with transportation, a carriage from Ponyville to Canterlot. But the ride was a blur, just like the day had been since I’d woken up. Lily had stopped trying to teach me to dance late into the night, deeming it satisfactory. Our last dance she’d called a ‘tango’ and it was still vivid in my mind. The way she wrapped herself around my body, taking the lead role in dancing. My head was still spinning from the excitement.

“Rose?” she asked again. I shook the dust out of my head and blinked twice.

“What?” I asked, coming to attention. Lily scowled jokingly. “What?” I asked again.

“Why aren’t you ever in the moment? All you ever do is think. What are you thinking about?” I didn’t say anything, out of fear of embarrassment. I supposed in one way it was good I was nervous about everything. My feeling towards Lily and thoughts about dancing vastly dwarfed my old fear of crowded places. 

“Just about dancing,” I answered quickly. “I’m still pretty nervous.” Lily giggled.

“If it makes you feel that nervous, nopony’s going to make you dance. It’s only for fun!” It didn’t make me feel that better. Just the fact that other ponies where going to be dancing make me feel a little sad that I couldn’t join them. “Hey,” she said, noticing my hesitance, “there’s always the open bar. That’s been known to teach ponies to dance.”

“I guess,” I grumbled. “What are you going to do?” We were quickly coming up to Canterlot, I realized. The sweeping fields and forests of Ponyville had long ago been replaced with mountainous terrain. Lily leaned back against the padded bench.

“Not sure yet. Maybe I’ll look around for a cute mare to dance with.” What kind of mare would she look for? The pony could look something like me, but probably more lithe and more caring for Lily. “What about you?”

“I’d like to look at the garden,” I admitted. 

“Oh, Rose,” she murmured. “You spend all spring and summer looking at gardens, and the rest of the year inside reading books. It might do you some good to look around and see if anypony catches your eye. I can guarantee that’s what pretty much every other pony’s going to be doing.” I sank back in my seat. I didn’t want to be oogled by everypony in Canterlot.

The carriage stopped with a jolt, throwing me off my seat and onto my feet. Lily giggled.

“Slow down, Rose. The Gala isn’t going anywhere.” I laughed a little too. The door to my side opened, revealing a long, red carpet leading up to the gorgeous Canterlot Castle. The towering walls were adorned with long banners of different hues, all of them with intricate designs of the Princesses, lands, and ponies of Equestria. All alongside the carpet itself, which lead past the gate and up to the long staircase into the castle proper, were various menageries of ponies and vendors, all co-mingling. When I stepped down from the carriage, feeling the warmed carpet underhoof I saw the sky, still lit up with magic and light and filled with birds of all colors. Even the Wonderbolts were flying overhead, doing tricks and maneuvers. It was all so much to take in. I felt Lily press herself against me so I could feel her through the dress.

“Just relax,” she said calmly, “Do you want me to stay around?” I looked at Lily. She looked stunning in the Canterlot lights. Her dress matched her golden hair color, and flowed down over her back to the floor, where it trailed slightly. It was a bit more ornate than mine, but at least I had sapphires on my breast. She had worn her mane plainly, while mine was curled all along my head and neck, in rows, one at my bangs and three along the neck. Lily had said it looked great when she finished it before the carriage ride. I shook my head, curls rustling slightly. 

“I think I can handle it,” I said with a false confidence I hoped she couldn’t see through. Lily eyed me suspiciously. “Go have fun, Lily.” She shrugged and turned to trot off to the castle. I was left to face the moving wall of ponies that were filing towards the castle. All of them looked nice, some very pretty dresses and suits. But I didn’t find myself attracted to anypony in particular. Didn’t Lily say that was what happened, you saw a pony and you felt something? The way she described it, it sounded like I’d just know immediately. So I started to walk up the carpet and to the castle interior. Nopony caught my eyes the way up and into the foyer. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a few ponies checking me out when they thought I couldn’t see. Hopefully they didn’t notice my blushing, rosy cheeks.

The inside of the Castle was more jam-packed than the outside. At the corners of every roo,m speakers had been set up so you were never without music and could dance your hooves off anywhere. Each room had a different style of music. From jazz to blues to classic to techno. Nothing made me want to dance, and nothing made me feel the way Lily had described. She said it would feel like butterflies only a hundred times more powerful. I hadn’t ever had butterflies before, so I was sure they’d feel remarkable. Fluttershy had once come into my store, asking if I’d had butterfly roosts, I hadn’t, and she’d brought dozens of the creatures with her. During our talking they’d decided to land of me all together. The feeling still haunted me.

Maybe butterflies in the belly wasn’t the best way to find out if you loved someone. Eager for a breath of fresh air, I walked out of the castle. As I passed through giant stained glass doors I saw the most beautiful looking garden I’d ever seen. Each section of the maze was filled to the brim with a different type of flower. On the row that held the entrance were all manner of roses, from blue, furthest from the entrance, to red. And I could have recognized those roses from anywhere. I galloped across the grass to the maze and took a deep whiff of the roses on the wall. They were definitely mine, I’d know them from anywhere. To my left where the blue roses where I saw a stallion admiring them too, sticking his muzzle far into the bushes to smell.  He had a simple black suit on, covering his pale blue coat, and a green mane. On his flank I saw a cutie mark just like mine, except it was a blue rose instead. I trotted up to him, hoping to talk about gardening, a safe subject.

He saw me approach and turned, a smile on his well-kept face. I saw a pale-blue glow coming from his mane, revealing a unicorn’s horn I hadn’t seen before. He plucked a rose from the wall and delicately placed it behind my ear. Something about it made me feel a little uncomfortable, but I persevered. Maybe he was simply being a little friendly, and I hoped it was just that.

“Hello, little cutie,” he said, “What brings you to the flower maze?”

“I wanted to know if it was you who grew those blue roses,” I said. “They’re gorgeous.” His smile brightened.

“I’m certain that the only thing gorgeous out here is you,” he said coolly. I could feel the heat rushing to my face, I tried to look away. He only chuckled. “I didn’t mean to offend.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Well I’ll have you know that yes, I did grow those blue roses, but they’re nothing compared to these red ones. I can see why Celestia placed them at the front of the maze.” The awkward blushing intensified. 

“I grew those,” I said weakly.

“I should have known!” he exclaimed happily. “Roses these nice could only come from a mare so pretty herself.” He took a step closer. “So what did you want to talk about?” I took a deep breath and calmed myself.

“My name is Roseluck,” I said, “and I wanted to know how you got such a deep blue in your petals.” He laughed again, playfully.

“I’m Azalia, it’s a wonder to meet you, Roseluck. Say, did you want to walk through the maze while we talk? There’s sure to be some other beautiful flowers in there we can find.” I nodded. Talking to strangers wasn’t that hard at all, I realized. I let him lead me into the maze.

All around the twists and turns of the maze were flowers of incredible combinations. Orange tulips, purple daisies, and many more. I could have sworn I saw Lily’s lily along one wall but Azalia lead me on. We saw fewer and fewer ponies as we walked, mostly in pairs of two or threes, and only very rarely did somepony walk alone. After ten minutes of walking, Azalia turned around. 

“See anything you like?” he asked. There weren’t any flowers of special note here. 

“These look like normal flowers?” I said, guessing. He chuckled again, louder this time. Something wasn’t right here. The feeling I’d had before was back in full force, but before I could act he had come at me and embraced me, his lips touching mine and his tongue trying to worm its way in. I pushed him back as hard as I could.

“What are you doing?” I demanded. I felt woozy all of a sudden, like I’d been spun around too fast. I stepped back where we’d come from. “Why did you do that?” He rolled his eyes.

“Surely I wasn’t the only one who felt something in the air,” he said, grinning again. But it wasn’t the playful grin from before. This one felt sinister and just awful. I took a few more steps back but he kept up with every one in half a stride. I looked around, there wasn’t a pony in sight, not even a guard in the sky.

“I didn’t feel anything in the air,” I squeaked. “I didn’t feel anything like butterflies.” He stopped chuckling and laughed heartily instead. When he was done he had to wipe a tear from his eye.

“Butterflies?” he asked. “The only feeling I was hoping for comes from under the tail.” I kept stepping back, hoping that I would just be at the entrance of the maze again, or at home. He had a sly smirk, but one that didn’t look confident or sure. “So you don’t want to do it?” I shook my head. Azalia shrugged and walked off, deeper into the maze. I turned, running without even watching where I was going. The further I went, the more ponies I saw, and for the first time I was comforted by being around other ponies.

At the start of the maze, I spotted Lily.. She was walking along one of the pathways that lined the gardens with another mare in tow. It didn’t look like she was heading towards the maze but I didn’t want her to see me. I felt incredibly crummy. I walked past her, using a crowd of ponies to block myself from her sight. Seeing her being happy like that when I felt so bad made me sick to my stomach. I found a relatively quiet spot on one wall of the maze were there weren’t any ponies around and lay down, back against the bushy wall.

I hated myself more than anypony else for being so jealous that Lily was happy, and I hated that I was so angry and spiteful. I hugged my hooves tightly around my belly, trying to hold back the unease. It hurt so bad I wanted to cry. Why couldn’t I do anything right? I couldn’t even find somepony to love.
My breath came in short gasps of air. I wanted to be anywhere else in
Equestria right now. The night, I felt, was ruined. My attention was brought elsewhere by the sound of beating wings. I looked around to see if there was a pegasus, but I couldn’t see anypony. All I could notice was a tear running down my cheek and onto my dress. The beating wings didn’t stop. I did feel a warmth on my back, running across my body. It made me feel better. Finally the wings stopped and I saw the unfamiliar pink body of another pony.

“Lily?” I asked helplessly. I looked again at the pony, and I nearly jumped in the air. There was no mistaking that fair pink body and multicolored mane. I’d have known who she was even if I had seen her without her wings or long horn. It was Princess Cadance. I scrambled to get myself into a bow, but she stopped me.

“Why were you crying?” she asked. Her voice sounded so tender and caring.

“I-I don’t know anymore,” I said. She was smiling, and everything she did made me feel less awful. “I just don’t know who I am anymore.” Cadance crept closer and sat down next to me. She wasn’t saying anything at all. “I’m sorry I bothered you.”

“You’re not bothering me at all,” she said, but nothing after that. I swallowed on a lump in my throat. All she was doing was looking at me with care radiating from her expression.

“W-why are you here?”

“You looked upset,” she said. I sniffled back another tear. I’d hoped nopony could see me. “You looked like you needed a friend.”

“I have a friend,” I explained. Something about her made me want to tell her everything. “And I just...” My insides were tying themselves in knots. “I just...” 

“You like her, don’t you?” I couldn’t say anything at all. What did Princess Cadance know? She was the princess of love wasn’t she? She had to know that kind of things I was going through. Cadance saw the panic in my eyes. “I can tell from how much you’re blushing that I’m right.”

“How do I know if I do?” I asked. She beamed warmly.

“You’ll know when your belly is filled to the brim with butterflies.” 

“But I don’t know when that happens,” I said quickly, “what does that feel like?” Princess  Cadance giggled a soft, bubbling laugh.

“Don’t you know that’s what you’re feeling now?” I couldn’t say anything at all. What I had been feeling all this time was... love? My mind replayed every time I’d felt this way. It all seemed to stem from one moment, the kiss we’d shared. I stood up with a jolt. Everything I’d felt for the last few days was welling up inside me, threatening to burst.

“What do I do about that?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“If I... like her, what do I do?”

“That’s up to you, sweetheart.” I wished she had something else to say. If only there was a magic phrase to say that made rainbows and sunrays appear and that would make everything alright with the world. But if the Princess of Love didn’t have anything for me, nopony would.

“What if she doesn’t love me anymore?” Cadance looked thoughtful. She really was an incredible pony, I thought. I didn’t know  many ponies who’d help a stranger like me with a love problem.

“Then that’s okay,” she said calmly. “Sometimes it happens.” I was pawing the ground nervously.

“Can you give me any advice?”

“Don’t be nervous.”

“Thank you, Princess Cadance,” I said with a curtsy. She returned it with a small bow and flew off into the sky. I turned and trotted back to the maze entrance. I hoped beyond hope that Lily was back there, if she was lost in a crowd or she’d wandered away I could spend hours searching for her.

My head was swimming with swirling clouds of ideas and thoughts. I had so much to tell her. I had to apologize for being so weird, for running around like a chicken. I would even tell her that I was moderately sure I was having feelings for her. But how would she take that?

As I rounded the corner of the maze and the rest of the garden I saw Lily walking along the path back towards the castle, this time without another mare. She had a dejected look on her face. With a renewed sense of vigor I sauntered over. Lily saw me when I got close and brightened up. 

“Having fun, Rose?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said. I stopped awkwardly and just looked at Lily. “I just, uh, had a thought.” She motioned for me to continue. It would have been easier if she was talking too. “I... uh.” Why couldn’t I say anything. It was so simple in my head. All I had to say was ‘I think I like you’. My words kept getting caught in my throat. Lily started to look concerned.

“Did something happen, Rose?” she asked. She lay the tip of her fetlock against my forehead, checking for my temperature. “Do you feel okay?” I didn’t want to tell her that I hadn’t ever felt less sure of myself. All I knew was what I had to do.

“Yeah,” I said, “Something happened and I did some thinking.” She took her hoof back.

“Thinking about what, Rose?”

“I’m getting to that.” Speaking more didn’t make it any less uncomfortable. I wanted to hide myself in the maze again, but settled for shifting my weight and straightening my dress. “I, uh.” Come on, Rose. You can do this! I had to back myself up, nopony else was going to do it now. “I had a thought about my feelings.”

“Okay,” she said, anticipating more. I swallowed another lump in my throat and started to sweat under my dress.

“You know when we were talking about whether I liked stallions or mares?” She nodded. “I think I...” This was it, the big moment. All I had to do was tell her and everything would be fine, I wouldn’t have to feel bad anymore. My eyes shut tightly. “I think I like you,” I squeaked out.

Lily looked me dead in the eyes. “Are you sure?” she asked. I couldn’t tell anything from her expression. She wasn’t smiling or anything, all she was was Lily, plain and simple. The butterflies in my stomach were in full force.

“Yes,” I managed to say slowly. Lily closed her eyes and pursed her lips.

“Do you know what that means, Rose?” I shook my head, she was staring me dead in the eyes.. Suddenly she was bright, lovely, and happy. “It means we’re dating!” Lily enveloped me in a hug, nuzzling my neck with her muzzle. All the stress I had felt for the past two days evaporated. My own snout was against her neck, her mane brushing against my nose. I started to reciprocate, rubbing my muzzle along her mane. She had a strange scent, a deeply floral aroma on her. Why hadn’t I noticed it before? She pulled back all too suddenly. Her mouth was a grin and her eyes sparkled in the night lights. “You want to dance?” 

“N-no,” I stuttered. One thing was enough, I thought. I didn’t need to dance tonight. Lily looked like she was ready to pounce, but she stopped. I actually breathes a sigh of relief, this wasn’t the place for that, but she looked mischievous for some odd reason.

“Are you sure you don’t want to dance?” she asked. Her voice was lower and sultry. One of her eyebrows was raised questioningly. “I’d love to dance with you.” I tried not looking at her, feeling myself get nervous. Why was she tempting me like this? Lily moved her head closer to mine, I could feel her hot breath on my face. A small squeak was building in my throat, just loud enough she probably heard it. “I think I have something that can make you dance with me,” she murmured. I didn’t have time to think about what she meant before she showed me. Lily put her face to mine, planting her lips firmly against my stunned mouth.

It was the best kiss I’d ever had, not that I was encumbered with experience about kissing. Her lips were warm and soft, I wanted to stay next to them forever. Sadly she pulled back, but I was still seeing fireworks. I moved my head closer to hers for another kiss, but only lightly touched her angelic lips.

“We can do some more of that on the dance floor,” she said seductively. Lily had me wrapped around her hoof. I’d gone from being hesitant to being completely infatuated in no time at all. It made me wonder if I’d always felt this way about her, but I’d just been hiding it from myself. “Come on, Rosy,” she begged, “Can’t we just do a little dancing for me?” She had placed a hoof on my neck and started to caress it. It was getting hard for me to breathe with all the attention.

“Can we just, uh, kiss instead?” I asked. It felt strange asking that of my old-time friend, but it was different now. She’d said we were dating. Didn’t ponies kiss a lot when they dated? “Please?” I added. I wondered if Daisy did that to her boyfriend or vice versa. There was only one thing I was sure they did together. Would Lily want to do that? 

“Am I teasing too much?” she asked.

“Yes!” I declared.

“I’m sorry,” she said. She backed off with her hoof and returned her voice to something a little more normal. “I just forgot for a second.”

“Forgot what?” I asked. Lily scrunched her nose.

“That you’re new at this,” she said quietly. My ears drooped low against my head. 

“So?” I asked defensively. “Just because I haven’t had anypony else before doesn’t mean I can’t handle it.” Lily looked taken aback. 

“I’m sorry,” she said again. “I didn’t mean to tempt you to dance. Well, I did, but that was a terrible thing for me to do.” Lily looked genuinely hurt too. Any bit of anger in me vanished, replaced by a sadness.

“I’m sorry too,” I piped up. Lily let out an exasperated groan.

“Stop being sorry, Rose. It isn’t your fault at all. You haven’t done anything wrong.” Lily closed her eyes to think for a moment. “What do you want to do?” she asked. My heart was pounding in my chest, so hard I was sure she could feel it this close.

“I want to kiss some more,” I said honestly. Lily giggled. 

“You are impossible,” she said while laughing. “If you want to, we can go find somewhere a little more quiet.” She had another sultry look in her eyes. My body was trying to do a million things at once, none of them comfortable. Blood was rushing to my face, making me blush more, my heart was racing, and worst of all I was starting to sweat. I nodded and started off towards where I’d met Princess Cadance. Lily followed close behind me. She wasn’t worried at all or didn’t seem to care that her dress was dragging on the ground a little.

When I found a place I thought was suitable I turned around. Lily was behind me, gleaming happily. She wasn’t moving closer at all. I waited expectantly, but so did she.

“Well?” she asked coyly. I raised my eyebrow.

“Isn’t this private enough?” 

“No, silly. Aren’t you going to start kissing your Lily?”

“What?” I was stunned. She smirked.

“Surely I can’t have a monopoly on all the kissing activities, Rose. I mean, I’ve done it to you twice already. I’m sure you’d like to give it a shot. You did take a swing at me only a few minutes ago.” My face was burning, she had noticed the attempt, not that I’d had much faith she wouldn’t. Lily walked up to me and pulled me into another hug. “Do you know what I want to do right now?”

“I don’t know,” I said. Lily rocked me over, tipping us both onto the grassy lawn. Somehow she ended up right on my belly, pinning me to the ground. 

“Is this too forward?” she asked. I was shaking my head, too surprised to do anything else. Seeing as we were together, this took on a whole different meaning. “Then kiss me,” she demanded. “And make them good ones, please.” Summoning all my courage I tried to land a peck on her lips again but she turned her head, and I merely brushed her cheek. Lily giggled. “You’ve got a lot of kissing to do, Rose. Better get started.” I struggled under Lily’s weight, but there was nothing I could from this angle but play her game. Why couldn’t we just do this how other ponies probably did?

I went again for her lips, but caught the cheek again, this time for more than a light brushing. I was getting closer to the prize. Lily planted her cheek against my neck. I could feel the warmth through my coat, spreading along my body. There were no words to describe the feeling of Lily. She stopped for a moment to speak.

“You like when I kiss your neck?” I strained my neck trying to reach her mouth but I couldn’t get the right angle. “I guess so.” She kept at my neck, moving up and up until she was near enough that I could have intercepted, and she stopped. 

“Why do you like kissing so much?” she asked.

“I’ve never done it before,” I said painfully, wincing at my own lame words. 

“Let’s get working on that then,” she said, and started at my neck, this time moving down, back to where she’d started.

“Lily, please,” I begged. I just wanted to feel her touch one more time. She stopped on my neck. 

“Please what?” she asked. I groaned at her question.

“Please kiss me, Lily,” I begged again. Lily picked up her head and moved it in front of mine. “Please?” I saw her lips pucker, and I did the same. When they finally touched it was like a spark of lightning to my body. My hind legs pawed at at the air, unnoticed by me. I was too busy to really care what my body was doing. I raised my forelegs around and pulled Lily in tighter. She let herself fall so were were side by side on the ground, smooching, being happy together. It felt like the first time in a while I didn’t have a care in the world. 

Every time she pulled back only to hit me again, it felt like my skin was on fire. I never wanted it to end, but all good things come to an end. She stopped and I just lay there next to her. For some reason, the fervor to kiss her had ended, and the same feeling came just by being next to her. The butterflies everypony had talked about had landed and I felt like a million bits.

“Lily?” I prodded. 

“Mmmm?” she mumbled. Her mouth was still buried along my neck.

“I’m really happy right now.” She snuggled in deeper. I wished there was some way to be closer with her. Everything about her sent me off in a tizzy of excitement; the way her breath moved the curls along my neck, the feel of her hooves on my back, and the scent of her perfume, which I found strangely intoxicating. How long I had been blind to Lily’s beauty. Now it all seemed so obvious to me.

The birds were chirping songs in the air. Even then we could hear the faint notes of the music coming from the castle interior. I wasn’t sure how long we lay there in the grass together, but I wish it had been forever, but she got hungry and so did I. We got up and together we bounded towards some of the food vendors. 

Lily got a modest apple pie, which she devoured in four juicy bites. On the other hoof I got a large slice of pumpkin pie topped with fresh whipped cream. The two of us sat at one of the many tables set up for guests  to eat at. I was working at eating the pie while Lily watched. A little of the pie filling remained on her lips. She took to licking it off and it looked to me like she was taking her time getting it all. 

I was so focused on Lily that I missed my next bite of pie. Instead my muzzle went straight into the cream and filling. I put the pie down on the table and went for a napkin. Lily stopped my hooves and gave my muzzle a long, comical lick. Her tongue was rough, big, and wet, I noticed. I was more shocked than anything that she’d licked the frosting off my face. I focused on her just in time to see her enjoy the taste it had given her. Suddenly I wasn’t hungry at all. Lily stared at me. 

“Are you alright?” she asked. I nodded slowly and picked up the slice of pie again. It dwarfed my hooves and I had barely even started. I took another bite and chewed it thoughtfully. The pie really was delicious, a spectacular blend of pumpkin and cinnamon. The whipped cream on top only helped to enhance the experience. I took my attention off the pie however. Lily was watching me intently.

“Is there something on me?” I asked. 

“You’re just cute, you know?” I didn’t know that. Two ponies had said that, Lily and my mom. “You’re enjoying the pie?” I nodded with a smile and took another large bite. Lily stuck her tongue out at me. “Want to dance yet?” I gulped hard on the pie.

“Dance?” 

“Yes, Rose, dance. The thing we practiced for hours last night.” We had done two things I wanted to do, and I didn’t want to seem pushy. 

“I feel scared,” I admitted, “about dancing.” Lily scootched closer. 

“No one will mind if you can’t dance, Rose,” she said. “There’s probably nopony here who can dance half as well as us.”

“Really?” I asked. She nodded assuringly.

“Most ponies here think swaying is dancing, and you’ve got quite a few moves under your belt.”

“Okay,” I said, “I’d like to dance with you, Lily.” She pulled me tightly into a hug, and I had to cradle the pie so it wouldn’t fall on either of us. She pulled back, holding me by the shoulders.

“I love dancing!” she squealed. I put the half finished slice down and stood up. Lily got up hastily and raced off, leading me back towards the castle. Inside, the party was still going even though it was early in the morning already. The ponies showed no signs of stopping. Lily lead me straight to the center and stood across from me. The music playing was hard to place, style wise, some sort of electronica. Not really something I listened to, but Lily didn’t seem to mind. She was moving to and fro with the music. I tried to follow along with her, but the beat of the music seemed to lose me every time.Other ponies kept bumping into me, throwing me off balance and threatening to knock me off my hooves. But at least Lily was happy and that was good enough.

It was hard to see, but the lights were gradually rising, throwing the dark of the room into just the corners. Minutes passed before other ponies started to notice too. The dancing slowed down and the volume of the music turned down. From one side of the room royal guards started to integrate with the dancers, letting ponies know the Gala was ending. Lily and I turned with the crowd and started toward the main gate. When we got into the atrium, I saw Princesses Cadance and Luna walking up the main stairway. I broke off from the tide and bounded up the stairs towards the Princesses, but guards stopped me.

“Wait,” I said over the sound of the mass of ponies, “ I need to thank Princess Cadance.” Lily appeared next to me.

“What are you doing, Rose?” she asked. I saw Cadance in front of me, behind the guards. She was gleaming in the bright lights. 

“Let them through, Flash,” she said to one of the guards. He bowed deeply and they let us through. When they had left Cadance spoke to Lily and I. “How are you two?” Lily’s jaw hung open, threatening to drop down and hit the floor.

“I just wanted to thank you,” I said. I bumped into Lily, hoping she’d take the cue and she did.

“How did you meet the Princess?” she asked as if Cadance wasn’t there. Cadance giggled.

“I saw your poor friend here and I stopped for a talk,” she explained. “I try my best to help everypony.” She looked Lily up and down. “Is this the friend you were talking about?” I nodded. “I’m glad you were able to work it out.”

“You helped Rose?” Lily asked Cadance. “Wow.”

“I think I just nudged her in the right direction. She knew the right move in her heart.” Cadance swept over both of us with her eyes. “You two look like you had a lot of fun at the Gala.”

“Oh yeah!” Lily exclaimed. “It was the most fun I’ve had all year!” I had to agree with her. I thought that Gala was going to be boring or scary, but in the end it was the best thing I had done in years.

“I’m very glad you two had fun, and I hope too see you next year even happier!” With that the Princess turned and with a flying leap returned to Luna’s side. The guards at the top were still eyeing us now so we backed down the stairs and followed the much diminished crowd again.

“I can’t believe you met the Princess,” Lily gabbed. She was raving over something I normally would have too. But for some reason it hadn’t had the same effect on me. Maybe it had been the circumstances but maybe it was just the way Princess Cadance was.

“You did too,” I pointed out. Lily rolled her eyes.

“But you met her twice! You’re practically best friends with her now in my eyes.” Lily glanced towards the sky. “Do you think she’ll want to come over for dinner next week? Oh, I hope there’s room at the table if Daisy’s colt-toy is over.”

“Lily,” I grumbled while she snickered over her own jokes. At the end of the red carpet we found the carriage that was to take us back to Ponyville. The ride wasn’t more than an hour long. This time I sat on Lily’s side of the carriage as it followed the winding, mountainous path to Ponyville. What had been a nervous journey before was now a relaxing moment to be with Lily. There were cushions on the padded seats of the carriage and Lily was using them to lie down. I decided to lean on her during the ride. She had a hoof in my mane, rubbing and scratching it.

The carriage dropped us off in front of Lily’s. I turned to go but she stopped me. 

“Do you want to... sleep over?” she asked nervously. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen her nervous, but it was the first time I’d felt her be nervous. Even she wasn’t sure of herself right now, and that made it strange to watch.
“Uhm,” I muttered, “I don’t know...”

“Y-you don’t have to!” she added hurriedly, “It was only a thought.”

“Well I’d like to,” I said, “it sounds fun.” It did sound fun to spend the night with Lily, maybe we’d get to spend some more time kissing, and I bet she was really warm in bed and a cuddler. I gave her an exhausted grin. “I’d really like that, Lily.”